


Salty About Sugar

by Shestoolazytologin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Armitage Hux loves his cat, Ben Is Pissed, Ben lacks social skills, Coffee Shops, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Gingerrose - Freeform, HEA, Maybe - Freeform, Modern Era, Rey is sugar, Reylo - Freeform, ben is salty, ben thinks he’s friendly, coffee shop owners, jyn and cassian play matchmaker, more rags to be added, the author has run out of tags, there will be smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:26:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23888929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shestoolazytologin/pseuds/Shestoolazytologin
Summary: Ben Solo is the owner of The Skywalker, the most famous coffee shop in town. His life is good, his business even better, until Rey Kanata moves across the street and turns his life upside-down.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 71
Collections: Anniversary Fic Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bespectacled_Geek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bespectacled_Geek/gifts).



> Thank you to tmwillson3 for beta-reading! ❤️
> 
> Maria, I hope you like this, and that this is what you had in mind ❤️

If Ben had to pinpoint the moment when Rey Kanata had walked into his life, he’d probably say it was a sunny April day. She entered his days and thoughts like a wind—the strong one that blows you away—and now, he’d say she did. But back then, she had been the person he hated the most…

**_~2019~_ **

It had started slowly. First, the renovations began. Ben had thought nothing of it. Then the furniture came—a counter, a fridge, chairs and tables inside—again; Ben had thought nothing of it. 

It was only when the door sign came that Ben started thinking _everything_ about it. 

_The Skywalker_ had been a family business ever since his grandfather had opened it back when he was young. Once his grandpa had fallen ill—and passed away shortly after—his uncle had taken care of it. Once his uncle had decided to retire, Ben had been more than willing to step in and take care of everything. He had kept the pristine reputation, the better-than-best coffee quality, the superior salty snacks, and had elevated it to a level that Anakin Skywalker had only ever spoken about in dreams. A place for every generation and occasion, The Skywalker also did catering and delivery. It was the all-in-one, one-stop shop kind of place. 

And then Rey Kanata had come along.

She, with her fancy coffee flavors, sweet snacks, and masterful decorating abilities—not that Ben was ever going to admit that—had swept in and taken more than half of his clientele, people that preferred muffins and sweet bagels for breakfast instead of his salty bagels and tramezzini. 

Ben hated her. Hated her with a sort of passion he had never felt for anyone else. How dare she, with her easy smile, friendly disposition, peachy ass, and long, long legs waltz into his turf like that? 

After what had felt like forever, he had locked the door, marched right across the street and given her a piece of his mind. Nicely. He had been extremely friendly while doing so. 

He was positive. He was confident in his social skills. 

* * *

Rey Kanata had had a passion for special coffee flavors and baking for as long as she could remember. Growing up, first in the foster system and then with her adoptive mother, Maz, all she could remember was being fascinated by all the different things she could do given a handful of ingredients. 

She had chosen April as her opening day. April had always been a good month for her—her birthday, the month Maz adopted her, and she met her best friend, Rose, in April. It was a good omen. The opening day had been fantastic; her shop had generated more than she ever thought it would. 

And then Ben Solo had come along. 

She had noticed the famous _The Skywalker_ across the street, she had known it was there. But the location had been so central and perfect, and the space so bright and airy that she couldn’t not rent it. 

_Rey’s Sweet Tooth_ was situated exactly across the street from _The Skywalker_ , and it had apparently driven Ben Solo insane, making him act like a child, despite his age being what she guessed was closer to thirty than five. 

Just thinking about it made her eyes roll harder than they ever had in her whole life. 

......

_She sees him walk out of his shop and cross the street. He’s one hell of a huge man, built, handsome, with legs so long he crosses to the other side in three steps._

_She looks at herself in the mirror, making sure she looks presentable and that her makeup is in place. Smile on her face, she turns around as she hears the bell above her door chime, excited to finally meet the man in charge of the famous coffee shop._

_Her smile fades when all she finds is an angry man._

_“You need to leave,” he says, arms crossed in front of his chest. “This is my area, and you are invading it.”_

_What?!_

_Dumbfounded, she can only blink at him. “I’m sorry, what?” she says, trying to gather her thoughts, scrambled from the hostility in his voice._

_“I said, this is_ my _turf. My area. I’ve been here for years. So pack up, and go back to the hole you crawled out of.”_

_She can feel the lump in her throat grow to the size of an asteroid. Taking a deep breath, she centers herself, reminding herself that murder is a crime, and that this isn’t another episode of The Purge._

_“Thank you for the kind welcome,” she says through her teeth, a fake smile plastered on her face._

_His eyebrows go up. “This wasn’t a welcome. This was a warning.”_

_“Oh, was it?”_

_She can see his eyes switch between her face and her cleavage, and decides on the spot that she will try her best to make this man’s life a living hell._

_“Enjoy it while it lasts,” he says, stepping back. “Rey.”_

_......_

That had been three months ago. Rey had kept her promise, and shown up to work in short jeans, short dresses, things that generally showed more skin than she would have otherwise worn. No one seemed to mind; no one had had a problem with that. 

And Ben Solo had looked, openly. Almost as if he knew why she was dressed up like that. 

Not that she cared, of course. 

The bell above the door chimed, interrupting her deep thoughts, and she smiled when she saw the customers walking through the door. 

Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor were the neighborhood sweethearts. Together since high school, they had gotten married at twenty-three and had two children. They were, in Rey’s eyes, the ideal of a happy marriage, and a couple as in love with each other as the first day they met. 

“Hello, Rey,” they greeted her, stopping in front of the counter.

“Jyn, Cassian! How was your vacation?” she asked as she prepared their usual—a matcha latte for Jyn, and Cassian’s berry mascarpone bagel. 

“Heaven,” said Jyn, clasping her hands together, a bright smile taking over her face. “Oh, Rey. It was absolutely perfect. The weather was amazing from start to finish—just what we needed to make our thirtieth wedding anniversary special.”

She smiled at Jyn’s joy. “I’m glad,” she said, placing Cassian’s bagel on the counter. 

“And that’s precisely why we’re here,” she continued. “We want to throw a small celebration for our nearest and dearest, people who have been with us through these thirty years. We were thinking you could cater it?”

“Oh my—me?” 

Jyn smiled as she reached across the counter and into Rey’s working space, taking the matcha latte that in her shock, Rey had forgotten to hand over. 

“Why are you so surprised?” she asked, confused. “Your snacks are unbelievably pretty, and very tasty, too. Your decorating skills are a dream, and you make sure everything looks perfect at all times. We want exactly that.”

“And your bagels,” said Cassian, lifting his bagel demonstratively. “I want your bagels.”

A smile broke over her face. Her first catering gig, for the lovely couple she considered to be goals. 

“Yes,” she nodded, smiling. “Okay, yes! I’d be honored!”

“Great then,” said Cassian as he paid for their order. “I’ll have our planner come over to discuss details with you. We’re thinking in a month, so I hope that’s plenty of time?”

Rey nodded. “Absolutely, that’s more than enough time.”

Jyn and Cassian waved at her as they walked out of her shop, and it took Rey about a second before she sprinted into the kitchen, jumping and victory dancing from excitement.

She couldn’t wait to tell Rose.

* * *

Ben walked out of the kitchen and into the shop the moment the door opened. Looking up, he smiled at the newcomers. 

“Jyn, Cassian. I didn’t know you were back. How was your vacation?” he asked as he transferred his bagels from the tray to the fridge, making sure the labels for each were visible. 

He had known the happy couple for as long as he could remember, both being close family friends. He had grown up with their children, often having them over or going himself over to play. Their perfect marriage was what Ben had hoped his parents’ would be when he was a child; though now at the age of twenty-nine, he knew that had simply been a hopeful child’s wish. 

“Hey, kid,” said Cassian, casually leaning against the counter. “It was great—sunny, warm, quiet. Everything we had hoped for.”

“I’m glad,” Ben said, grabbing their usual order—a caprese bagel for Jyn, and a cold brewed coffee for Cassian. 

“We wanted to ask you whether you would like to cater our thirtieth wedding anniversary celebration?” Jyn said between bites. “We want our friends and family to celebrate our joy with us. It’ll be in about a month or so, enough time to give everyone a chance to arrange their schedule.”

Smiling, Ben nodded. “Yeah, sure. Anything in particular?”

Jyn waved him off. “Oh, just a little bit of everything to balance out the sugar. We asked Armitage to be our planner—I guess he’ll come over and let you in on the rest. Is that okay?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll call him later and sort everything out.”

Cassian took a sip of his coffee. “Well then,” he said, checking his phone. “Your mom is having us over for lunch so we gotta get going. Thanks for doing this.”

They bid him goodbye, and as they exited the shop, he caught a glimpse of the long-legged menace from across the street. 

She was wearing a white, sleeveless sundress, its length reaching to her mid-thigh, with her hair put up in a half bun. She laughed. He couldn’t hear her, but he knew the sound of it—she did that often enough—and despite hating her guts, he could admit her smile was brilliant. 

He smirked. _Let her smile for a little while longer,_ he told himself. _She’s going to be out of your street pretty soon._

* * *

In retrospect, Rey never expected what happened next. She didn’t really see it coming _at all._ She was a professional, could act nice for the sake of the couple that she so much loved, but Ben couldn’t. And so it began. 

**_~2019~_ **

She jotted down notes as the ginger man across the table went on about Jyn and Cassian’s event. Fifty guests, color scheme to be sage green and white—the same colors they’d had at their wedding. The whole thing would take place in their backyard, which Armitage—the event planner—had described as “absolutely enchanted.”

She closed her notes as she went to grab her keys from the counter. “Thanks for offering to show me the place,” she said, turning around to look at Armitage. “I really wanted to see it so I could draw inspiration for my decoration.”

Armitage, who seemed like a man with patience only for those close to his heart, or his cat—his lock screen image—nodded once with pursed lips as they made their way out of her shop and into their respective cars. The drive was short, and upon entering the grounds of the house, Rey immediately understood what Armitage had meant by enchanted. 

Cherry trees lined up the whole driveway. The house was neither too big, nor too small—just enough for a family of four to live comfortably and have some additional space. One side of the house was covered in climbing rose, both white and pink, and, paired with the color of the house itself, it gave the impression of something out of a magical fairytale.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking at the estate in awe. “Do they still use it?”

Armitage shook his head. “Not as much anymore. They only use it as a retreat nowadays; though Jyn still makes sure she takes care of it regularly. She is responsible for the backyard. Come.”

She followed him behind the house, the green expanse of the backyard full with an array of trees of every color imaginable— green, violet, red, white. She could spot lavender bushes, a Hollywood swing, tulips, hydrangeas, and flowers she had never seen before. In the middle of the yard was a clearing, though intentional or not, Rey didn’t know.

“Was Jyn a gardener at some point?” she said in a daze, not able to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her. “And why would she move out? I would never leave this space.”

Armitage shrugged. “She loves this house, but she has never lived in a city, so that was something she always wanted to try. Make no mistake, she comes here during the weekends. Anyway,” he said, checking the time. “We’re still waiting for someone else, and once he’s here, we can start with the plans.”

Rey nodded, walking towards the house. Opening the front door, she found herself in a foyer, stairs in the middle of the room leading to what she assumed were living quarters to the left and right wing of the upper floor of the house. The living room was on her left, and the kitchen was on her right, and she could see the dining room behind the stairs. Making her way to the kitchen she searched the cabinets, looking for a glass. Finding one, she poured water into it and took a sip, realizing she had been thirstier than she had thought.

She heard Armitage’s voice not a second later.

“What took you so long?” 

A car door opening, then closing. Rey walked to the front door, hearing the sound of crunching gravel. She opened the door.

“Sorry. The traffic was insane.”

Her body shook in horror. She looked up at the owner of the voice, not believing her ears. This could _not_ be happening. When she finally stopped looking up, she came face to face with none other than Ben freaking Solo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to the lovely tmwillson3 for beta-reading! ❤️

She recovered pretty quickly, but judging from the look on his face, he was shell-shocked. He stared at her, something between incredulous and furious, and another feeling she didn’t really know how to describe. Like there was a volcano in his eyes, dormant to the naked eye but erupting if you paid close attention. 

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to. 

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, resting her left elbow on the back of her right hand and waved at him teasingly. 

“Hux,” he said, head snapping in Hux’s direction. “What is she doing here?”

She sighed, acting unbothered, unfazed, but as curious as him, desperate to know what he was doing there. 

“They hired her to cater,” said Hux, scrolling through whatever he was looking at on his phone. He looked at Ben, and then at her. “She’s Rey. Have you two met?”

She wanted to laugh, laugh until she could no longer breathe, because if she didn’t, she was sure she’d start screaming. 

“I’ve had the displeasure of meeting her,” was all Ben said, and she rolled her eyes. 

“We work right across the street from each other.” 

Hux nodded as if she had just given him some irrelevant information, like it didn’t matter, and she had the abrupt urge to just shake him. She wanted to ask him what Ben was doing there, at the planning stages of an event  _ she _ was supposed to cater, but he was, thankfully, quicker than her. 

“So what is she doing here?”

Hux sighed. “She’s catering the event. Jyn and Cassian asked her to cater it, too. You do the salty stuff, and she does the sweet.”

Ah. All clear. She took deep breaths, reminding herself how much she loved Jyn and Cassian, how important this was to them. 

“Why her?” he said, pointing at her as if she was a decorative piece casually leaning against the door frame. “There are plenty of other people to hire.”

“I guess they recognize talent,” she answered, shrugging, and that just seemed to annoy Ben even more. 

“I’ve known them my entire life. There’s no way they find you talented.”

“In any case.” The interruption came from Hux, phone in his pocket. “This matters to them so you can either put your stupid rivalry aside, or bang it out. Your choice, as long as you leave me and this event out of it.”

Ben was gaping like a fish, and so was she. “Excuse me,” she said, hands on her hips. “I would never bang him, not even if he was the last man alive.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that.” Ben narrowed his eyes. “I’d rather chop my balls off than ever do you.”

“Well then, I don’t see what the problem is,” she said, eyebrows raised. “I doubt you have much selection to begin with; I fail to understand how any woman could stand you.”

Hux silently clearing his throat snapped them both out of it. “If you’re done acting like children, I would like to go through the menu.”

Going through the menu was better than having to listen to Ben’s voice; though she could admit to herself that it was a pleasant voice to listen to, not because of his intellect, which she really thought he was lacking, but because the timbre of his voice was of a kind that drove her insane. They went through every detail with a fine-toothed comb, every arrangement, everything a normal person wouldn’t have even thought of, but Armitage Hux was no normal person. 

It was getting dark when they were finally done, and as they all headed to their respective cars, Rey couldn’t help but catch a whiff of Ben Solo—

—and she instantly wished she hadn’t, because that man was more intoxicating than anything else she had ever smelled. Unlike him, she could admit he was attractive, just not to his face. 

“Okay then,” Hux said, drumming his fingers on the hood of his car. “Have three items ready by next Monday. Jyn, Cassian, and I will come by and check them out, see the decor and everything.”

“Is this something that happens usually?” she asked purely out of curiosity. 

Hux shrugged. “Not really. But I won’t pass free snacks,” he said, opening the door of his car and getting in. “See you on Monday!”

He drove off, leaving Ben and Rey there, alone. They didn’t speak; they just silently got into their own cars and drove off.

Rey thought about him for the rest of the day. 

* * *

  
She was impossible, with her smart mouth, bright eyes, and blinding smile. She thought she knew it all when in fact she didn’t. He couldn’t stand her, the mere thought of being in her presence annoyed the hell out of him, and yet, she set all his nerves ablaze whenever she was near, until all he wanted to do was have her beneath him so he could finally,  _ finally,  _ get her out of his system once and for all.

His own body betrayed him whenever he saw her, whenever she laughed, whenever she walked next to him, touched her hair, or sighed like there was nowhere else she’d rather be. It didn’t help that Hux was aware he wanted to fuck her, but it wasn’t like he wanted to do it all the time: once or twice, maybe three times.

He couldn’t exactly blame himself. She was doing it on purpose, provoking him by merely existing.

And so Ben kept to himself, tried to pretend she didn’t exist, even if it got tiring after a few minutes. Ignoring her warm vanilla scent was like turning down coffee.

Coffee business wasn’t going great for him. Rey promoted coffee flavors unheard of before, with names even more bizarre than that.  _ Instaccino  _ was the latest in a long line _ ,  _ the most instagrammable cappuccino (according to her), created to curate everyone’s Instagram theme. Influencers didn’t need to be told twice, flocking to her shop like pigeons when given a crumb. His tramezzini were selling alright (though his only customers were people above the age of fifty), and his brewed coffee was doing rather well, too.

Other than that, it was very demotivating for him, watching his shop stay empty while Rey had a long line of people waiting outside of hers.

Maybe Jyn and Cassian’s event would remind people again of The Skywalker and its long history. His coffee shop was an established brand; Rey’s was just hyped, nothing more.

He growled, careful not to be heard by the elderly couple sitting two tables away, eating their tramezzini. He faintly caught them say they’d go to Rey’s for sweet bagels afterwards, and it took all he had not to scream from frustration and let his anger out on the nearest object.

He hated her.

* * *

Preparations for the anniversary event went smoothly. Rey prepared several designs and presented them to Armitage, receiving a small nod which she had come to interpret as his sign of approval. Ben had prepared an assortment of cold-cut breads and bite-sized tramezzini, so small that she wondered how he even had the courage to think them, let alone the patience to bring them to life. He was rude, but he had an eye for fine stuff. It was something she couldn’t take away from him.

Jyn and Cassian approved of the designs too; though she had the faint feeling that Cassian would probably like whatever his wife did. Rey was in the kitchen, a glass of water in her hand, her eyes trained on Armitage, Cassian, and, specifically, Ben.

She liked the expanse of his back, the way he was so big he made everyone else look small. There was a pleasant quality to the sound of his voice, a deep timbre that went straight to her core sometimes. She was no child, nor was she petty; she could admit to being attracted to someone. For all his asinine behavior, she was attracted to Ben Solo.

“Handsome, isn't he?”

She looked to her left and saw Jyn standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking at her with an expression she couldn’t quite decipher. 

“What?” Rey feigned ignorance, for she knew all too well what Jyn was talking about.

“Ben,” she said, coming to stand next to her. “He was the sweetest child, though pretty quiet. His dad would always talk about how his eyes looked ancient, like he’d been waiting for years and years to be born. Smart kid.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Rey shrugged. “I haven’t really looked at them.”

Jyn hummed in a way that told Rey her answer didn’t entirely convince her.

“He’s a good boy. I can’t wait to meet the lucky girl that will get to spend the rest of her life with him.”

Rey snorted, earning Jyn’s raised eyebrow. “Sorry,” she said, explaining further. “I’m sorry, but I can’t really see any benefit to scoring Ben Solo.”

Jyn smiled softly. “I know.” She took a sip of her green tea. “Cassian was the same when I first met him. Condescending, like he was better than me. We couldn’t stand each other at first.”

“What happened?” Rey asked, more than curious to know the beginnings of her favorite couple.

Jyn simply shrugged. “I guess he grew up? I don’t know exactly what happened. He just...stopped being an ass, and I started finding him charming. Thought I was going crazy for a second.” A shake of her head, followed by a sigh. “I’m glad I stopped for a second and looked.”

She turned to Rey, placing her hands on Rey’s shoulders. “Sometimes, all we’ve ever wanted is standing right in front of us, and we’re just too blind to see it.”

Jyn cupped Rey’s cheek before turning around and leaving the room, letting Rey ponder on her words.

* * *

Ben sneaked looks at the bane of his existence whenever she laughed, rolling his eyes. How she managed to get on his nerves without lifting a finger was beyond him. He was so focused on his notes for the event that he didn’t notice Cassian sitting next to him until he let out a content sigh.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

Ben nodded—the day was beautiful, indeed. His eyes landed on Rey once again, entirely against his will, and he looked away right the next second, hoping Cassian didn’t notice.

The odds, however, hadn’t been in Ben’s favor lately.

“Lovely girl, isn’t she?” said Cassian, looking from Ben to Rey and back to Ben.

Ben rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. She gives the impression of a very spoiled rich brat.”

Cassian nodded slowly. “I thought that, too, when I first met Jyn. Spoiled brat, never able to take a single responsibility upon her own shoulders. But then I decided to take a closer look, and she was the complete opposite of that. She was lovely, humble, caring.” He paused, looking down. “That’s Rey. A person who was dealt a shitty beginning in life who still held on to hope. Rey is many things, but spoiled brat isn’t one of those. Look closer,” he said, getting up. “There’s more than meets the eye.”

He winked and headed over to where his wife was, leaving a confused Ben to stare at his retreating form.

* * *

  
It was late at night when they returned home. He dropped the keys in the nearby bowl on the kitchen counter as she turned her back to him, silently asking him to unzip her dress. He did, kissing her shoulder as she let it pool on the floor around her feet. Turning around, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply for a few seconds, then breaking apart. 

He had been the only one she had ever had eyes for her entire life. Many years and two children later, he had retained his boyish looks, undeniable charm, and kindness she had failed to see from the beginning. 

“How did it go?” she asked him, kissing his neck softly. 

His sigh told her all she needed to know. 

“He thinks she’s a spoiled brat,” he said, running his fingers up and down her spine in a way that gave her goosebumps entirely unrelated to cold. 

“If it makes you feel better, she thinks he’s rude,” she replied, kissing his collarbone. 

“So what are we gonna do?” he asked, and she looked at him, at his dark eyes that she loved more than anything. 

“Keep pushing,” Jyn said, letting a small smirk grace her face. “Something’s gotta give. We’re throwing an anniversary party just so we can get those two to see they’re perfect for each other.”

Cassian shook his head, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re a crazy matchmaker, but I love you.”

She shrugged playfully. “You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

His only answer was picking her up and carrying her to their bedroom, matchmaking projects set aside for the rest of the night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this and thanks for reading- you can find me on Tumblr Shestoolazytologin or Twitter @Reylo4President. 😊


End file.
